Breaking down the Flyers’ battles through a tough stretch

The Philadelphia Flyers have been a middle-of-the-road team to begin the season. We’ve seen glimpses of greatness, especially from the top line of Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, and Jake Voracek, but the team has become a bit top-heavy of late. They’ve relied on their top line to produce points and keep them in games. It was prominent in their 3-1 win over the Blackhawks, where each member of the line had a goal, and also in their 1-0 loss against the Wild, where they were held in check for the entirety of the game.

We broke down what is going on with the middle-six, which went through another reshuffling on Monday during practice. Wayne Simmonds hasn’t scored a goal in nine games and is banged up, to say the least. Jordan Weal seems a bit snake bitten and has really fallen victim of some bad luck on the ice. Dale Weise and Jori Lehtera aren’t doing much for the team. Valtteri Filppula and Travis Konecny are now third liners in an attempt to jump start the lines again.

Ivan Provorov has been the most impressive defenseman this season for the Orange and Black. But he’s not the only one turning heads. Two rookies have really come into their own as the season has gone along. Travis Sanheim and Robert Hagg have done their fair share of growing. Each have had a few bad games, but have rebounded well and continued to grow – a sight similar to that of Provorov in 2016-17.

Let’s continue with a reflection on the team moving forward with the latest episode of SOP Radio.

The SOP Radio crew of Ryan Gilbert, Tom Foti, and David Cattai discuss the Flyers’ recent stretch, including Brian Elliott’s newfound success, lackluster depth scoring, power-play woes, and give credit where it’s due regarding some of the young players.